Guelph robocall victims trying to keep scandal in election spotlight

With headlines dominated these days by the Mike Duffy trial, a four-year-old political scandal that erupted during the last federal election probably isn’t top of mind for most voters — unless they were among its the victims.

As reported in the Guelph Mercury, a group of local residents who say they were victims of misleading robocalls impersonating Elections Canada officials in 2011 are looking to keep the issue on the agenda and are asking local federal candidates to take up their cause with elections officials.

The group of victims sent a joint letter in June to Yves Cote, the Elections Canada commissioner, asking that the investigation into the scandal be re-opened — given that the robocalls were made using personal information contained in the List of Electors, something not permitted under the Canada Elections Act.

Cote wrote back to the group saying that no further investigation into the matter is necessary. Now, the residents are asking for local candidates to take up their cause and request public clarification from Elections Canada about its rationale for not pursuing further investigation.

Green Party candidate Gord Miller reportedly said he is open to the idea, while NDP candidate Andrew Seagram said he believes the request would be better aimed at the national parties rather than local candidates.

Thousands of calls were made to non-Conservative voters in Guelph on the 2011 federal election day by an individual posing as an Elections Canada official.

Those calls directed voters to the wrong polling stations and were later traced back to the director of communications for the local Conservative candidate, Michael Sona.

Sona was found guilty in August 2014 of trying to send people to the wrong polling stations and was sentenced to nine months in jail plus 12 months of probation.

Sona insisted throughout his trial that he was being thrown under the bus to protect others within the Conservative party.

Both the Crown and defence in the case are challenging the sentence, with Sona’s lawyer arguing he deserves a lighter one and prosecutors saying he ought to have been handed more time in custody.